Toyota Vitz

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(Redirected from Toyota Echo)
Toyota Vitz/Platz/Yaris/Echo
Manufacturer:Toyota
Production:1999–present
Class:Subcompact
Body Styles:3-door hatchback
5-door hatchback
4-door sedan
2-door coupé
5-door minivan

The Toyota Vitz and Platz are the current models of a small subcompact car produced and marketed by Toyota Motor Corporation, with the Vitz name used for 3- and 5-door hatchbacks, Platz for sedans and Funcargo for a small minivan in Japan. In Europe the hatchback version is sold as the Yaris and the minivan as the Yaris Verso. The hatchbacks and sedans are also sold as the Echo in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

It went on sale in Europe early in 1999, and migrated to North America first in 2000 under the name of Echo and available only as sedan with 2 or 4 doors. However, after the design of the European Yaris hatchback was slightly refreshed in February 2003, its slightly modified version went on sale in Canada for the 2004 model year as the Echo Hatchback, but is not sold in the United States. The Yaris was voted European Car of the Year for 2000.

Instead of conventional instruments, the hatchback models Yaris and Echo utilize digital instruments which are mounted in the center of the dashboard. The US and Canadian Echo have a conventional speedometer but it is still mounted in the center of the dashboard. Space for the driver and front seat passenger is reported to be large for a subcompact, while rear seat legroom can be altered via a sliding rear bench.

The European Yaris was initially available with two gasoline-powered 4-cylinder 1.0 L and 1.3 L engines with Toyota's VVT-i technology, but after the 2003 facelift, a 1.4 L D4-D diesel engine was included into the lineup. This diesel engine is also licensed to BMW for use in their MINI One D model.

The European Yaris T Sport (Vitz RS in Japan) version was introduced in 2001 and is powered by a 1.5 L engine, which also powers the North American Echo models and the Asian Vios models, as well as the Scion xA. The T Sport is marketed as more fun to drive than the base models because of a sportier suspension and an extra 21 hp (15 kW) of power compared to the 1.3 L model.

New to the Yaris range in 2000 was the Yaris Verso, a small minivan which used the same running gear as the conventional hatchback, but was designed to have an even more practical interior. In Japan, the model bears, to English ears, the unusual name of Funcargo.

The running gear is shared with the Toyota bB and Ist, sold in the United States as the Scion xA and xB, and with the Japan-only Toyota Will Vi. The same CP platform is the base for Probox and Succeed Japan-only wagons.

In Asia (excluding Hong Kong and Japan), the Vitz is sold as a sedan under the name Vios.

Toyota has recently released a second generation Vitz in Japan. (The Platz in Japan has yet to be updated, and will be renamed to Belta; Funcargo's second generation, renamed to Ractis, was presented 03-Oct-2005.) The European, Australian and New Zealand markets should see the second generation Yaris/Echo towards the end of 2005. In the Australian market the car will be sold for the first time as "Yaris". The revised Yaris was released in the Canadian market in October 2005, and will be in the US market in spring 2006, replacing the Echo in both markets. They will come in a 3-door, 5-door, and possible sedan versions. New colors will also be available

Contents

Toyota Echo (USA and Canada)

In the United States the Echo has been a rare flop for Toyota. The initial year of almost 50,000 sales was promising, but after the Echo sold just half that many in 2003, the product was no longer stocked at dealerships. Sales for much of the 2004 have reached just 3,593, with another year of production left before the product is replaced.

However, the Echo sells in very high volumes in Canada, where smaller cars are much more popular than in the USA. Sales are so high that Toyota introduced the 3 and 5-door hatchback models to the Canadian Toyota lineup for the 2004 model year. They are sold as the Echo Hatchback and visually almost identical to the European Yaris.

US sales

  • 2000 - 48,876
  • 2001 - 42,464
  • 2002 - 30,859
  • 2003 - 26,167
  • 2004 - 3,593 (until November)

External links

Reviews

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